Mercenary leader’s death stirs Catholic reflections in Russia and Ukraine August 28, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News A Ukrainian Catholic bishop has urged Russians to learn lessons from the fate of mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, and choose “true democracy” rather than “an unstable dictatorship.”
Three years after disputed election, Belarus church is urged to speak up for the persecuted August 23, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Religious Freedom, World News A Christian campaigner has urged Catholic church leaders and the Vatican to condemn worsening human rights abuses in Belarus, after another Catholic priest was arrested in front of his parishioners for spreading “extremist material.”
Polish, Ukrainian churches push for reconciliation, unity on 80th anniversary of massacre July 17, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Church leaders in Ukraine and Poland have urged “reconciliation and unity” between their countries in the face of Russian aggression as they marked the anniversary of a wave of wartime massacres in Volhynia region.
Following Wagner Group’s now-halted march on Moscow, bishop sees ‘hope and danger’ ahead for Ukraine June 26, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News While a Catholic bishop in Ukraine warned current events presented “both hope and danger” for his own country, leaders of Russia’s Orthodox Church backed President Vladimir Putin’s rule and welcomed the apparent defusing of a military rebellion.
Ukrainian church leaders cite lack of information on Vatican initiatives May 30, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, War in Ukraine, World News Ukrainian church leaders have voiced skepticism over a planned Vatican “peace mission” to their war-torn country and have complained of being left in the dark about Rome’s intentions.
New report says Germany’s Catholic Church faces major decline in membership, revenue May 16, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, World News Germany’s Catholic Church will be forced to give up a third of its properties in the face of dwindling membership and revenue, according to a new report, with many buildings facing demolition unless converted to other uses.
Catholic leaders welcome ‘focus on service’ at king’s coronation May 8, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News Catholic leaders in Britain welcomed the ecumenical and interfaith elements in the May 6 coronation of King Charles III and his consort, Queen Camilla, as well as a pledge by the new monarch “not to be served but to serve.”
Britain’s Catholics prepare for king’s upcoming coronation May 1, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations, Feature, News, World News King Charles III reaffirmed his Protestant identity in speeches after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 — and will reaffirm it again during the coronation service.
Catholic priests martyred during Paris Commune are beatified April 24, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News Five Catholic priests have been beatified in France, 152 years after they were seized as hostages and shot in the street by rebels of the Paris Commune.
Church leaders welcome move on Russian war crimes in Ukraine, decry abduction of Ukrainian children March 28, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News Ukrainian church leaders have warned Russians they will have to answer for savagery inflicted on their country, following the International Criminal Court’s indictment of President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
Legendary communist-era priest, Father Blachnicki, was murdered, Polish authorities confirm March 20, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Saints, World News Polish church leaders have welcomed renewed calls for the beatification of a popular priest, Father Franciszek Blachnicki (1921-1987), following official confirmation that he was killed by communist secret police agents.
‘We cannot defend ourselves without arms,’ Ukrainian archbishop says in a Catholic panel February 9, 2023By Jonathan Luxmoore OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, War in Ukraine, World News The head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has defended President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s requests for long-range weapons, although a Vatican diplomat warned that arm supply is a complex topic.
